February 10, 2004
French Wildcards Shine in Paris
PARIS, France - No.8 seed Magui Serna (right) overcame a second set lapse
to beat Hungarian Petra Mandula on Day 2 of the $585,000 Open Gaz de France.
Serna won 63 16 62 to set up a second round clash with either French star
Mary Pierce or Spanish lucky loser Arantxa Parra - that match to be decided
on Wednesday.
Pierce was originally drawn to play compatriot Nathalie Dechy, who pulled
out late on Tuesday with a left thigh strain.
"Unfortunately during practice last weekend, I strained my thigh," said
Dechy. "I was hopeful of competing here but it hasn't improved after
treatment this week... It's definitely not an easy decision - this is
one of my favorite tournaments."
It was a good day for the qualifiers, with Dinara Safina and Karolina Sprem
advancing to the second round.
Seventeen-year-old Safina took on fellow qualifier Jelena Jankovic of Serbia
& Montenegro, who retired with a left thigh strain trailing 64 20. Safina
meets No.3 seed Patty Schnyder for a quarterfinal berth.
Sprem was impressive in beating veteran baseliner Maria Vento-Kabchi 62 63
and now meets No.5 seed Francesca Schiavone.
"This is the best I've ever played for four consecutive matches, coming
through qualifying and winning again today," said Sprem. "I'm pretty
confident going into my next match."
Late on Tuesday, French wildcard Tatiana Golovin thrilled her home crowd,
staging a remarkable comeback against No.6 seed Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.
The Israeli led 61 53 and held two match points serving at 40-15, only for
Golovin to break back for 5-4. However, the 16-year-old, fresh from her
fourth round finish at the Australian Open, trailed 15-30 in her next
service game, two points from defeat.
Golovin fought hard to level at 5-all, then broke a cramping
Smashnova-Pistolesi and held her next serve to win the second set 7-5.
The players exchanged breaks to open the third set, but Smashnova-Pistolesi
called the WTA Tour primary health care provider to court for treatment,
only to retire after the second point of the fifth game. Golovin won 16 75 31
ret. after two hours, 10 minutes.
"I'm really proud to have lasted out there," said Golovin. "I worked really
hard on my fitness in the winter, and Anna is known for her fitness, so I
really can't believe I made it through."
Golovin meets the winner of the Sandrine Testud vs. Daniela Hantuchova first
round match, to be played Wednesday. Testud, 31, is playing her first WTA
Tour event since 2002 Wimbledon, having been off the circuit since then to
have her first child. Daughter Isabella was born in February last year.
In the last match on Day 2, Stephanie Cohen-Aloro maintained a perfect 2-0
record for the French wildcards, defeating lucky loser Claudine Schaul of
Luxembourg, 46 63 75. Schaul led 4-2, 40-0 in the third set before
Cohen-Aloro rallied to win five of the last six games of the match.
Cohen-Aloro meets Russian No.2 seed Elena Dementieva in the second round.
http://www.wtatour.com/newsroom/stories/NewsArticle_3148_rx.asp
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